New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-07-09
THE PRESIDENTS APoLoGLSTS.

Servifty Is the badge of Mugwumpery.
Democratic journals Of weight and influence
like 1.-THE New-Yorix World support the
President because he is a Democrat. but they
do not renounce the privilege Of consuming
him when his public acts are unpatriOtio and
unreasonable. Journals like "Ihe New Y rk
Tines support the President, not because he
is Democrat, but because he is Mr.. Cleve-
land. They are banking solely upon his name
and reputation, as Mr. Garland's former friend,
DR.. Rogers, used to say and they defend and
flatter him when self-respccting Democratic
journals are ashamed to say anything in his
favor. They do not hesitate to denounce the
rank and file of the noble army of Union vet
Grams, if the President in the vicisstudes of
his political fortunes seems to require so costly
q vindication at their hands.
This contrast between independent, self
respecting party journalism and depend mt
servile Mugwumpery is strongly marked in the
comments of the city press yesterday on the
Presidents retreat from st. Louis. " The
Sum- that sturdy advocate of old-fashioned
Jsclsonian Democracy, after trying hard to
say something in eNtenuation of the Presidents
course, grimly ccnsures him for referring to
idle and absurd threats Of personal violence,
and tells him plainly that the best way to
treat them would have been by absolute ST.
lence' 1.-THE World is even more outspOken.
II repudates the idea that it was necessary
for the President to stay away from one Of the
chief cities in the country for fear Of insult
to his office 1t bluntly says that the Pres
ident's conduct viii be interpreted as coward
ly. How many threats of insult. it asks. would
it have taken to scare Andrew Jackson from
his purpose, if he had accepted an invitation
to 60 somewhere? 1t was not the man but
the President, it scnsibly remarks, who wax
invited to st. Louis by an army of hosptablc
citizens, and as President he would have been
protected from insult. This is the courageous
way in which Democratic journals condemn the
Presidents pusiIlanimous retreat from tho
Encampment How different is the attitude
of the servile "Times!" 1t pronounces the
Presidents letter "digniied and patriotic,
and his reasons for declining the invitation
worthy of his character and his Office; it
culogzes him for his unwillingness /" to expose
the dignity of the Office which he bears as
sacred trust from the people and it insults
the Nations brave defenders by expressing its
conviction that " the entire incident will tend
to lower the Grand Army in the esteem and
respect of the country at large Thick-and-
thin Cleveland partisanship Of this hybrid
variety thinks nothing of reviling the whole
body of Union veterans if the President can
not be handsomely vindicateds in any
other way.
The most fantastic feature of this partisan
exhibition is "The Times's' charge that
" pseudo patriots have been attempting " to
swing the Grand Army against the Admins
tration.' This accusation is coupled with q
shrill warning that the organization will be
ruined if it permits itself to be dragged into
politics. The charge and the warning are alike
grotesque, since it is notorious that Democratic
politicians were scheming to make use Of the
Grand Army Encampment as a means of DEM
Onstrating that the President was not unpop- !
ular among the veterans. 1t was this attempt
on the part of Mr.. Cleveland's Western par
tisans to drag a non-partisan military organ
ization into politics that aroused the ire Of
General Tuttle and inspired his impulsive de-
nunciations of the President 81 Know he |
exclaimed "they will have their political clubs
here and try to work them in on us. We are
not going to have our reunion turned into
political BOOM The bitter language of which
the President and his servile organs complain
was called forth by Democratic intrigues
against the non-partisan character Of the Grand
Army The veterans would have set their
faces sternly against political intrgues for
securing an Endorsement of the Presidents
public acts and thereby promoting his chances
'or q second term They would not have
allowed the organization to be dragged into
politics, albeit they would have respected the
Presidents Office and amply protected him
against insult and unworthy treatment. As
The Democratic game was n complete failure
It is the most natural thing in the world for
journals like "The Tines to charge that
Republican politicians are converting the Grand
Army into political machine.
CpnWJNG WR1JTH